Hansel never asked to be a hero. He never wanted to fall in love with Rapunzel, Queen of the East. He didn’t ask to be raised by Gothel the Wretch, and he certainly never wanted to be credited for her arrest. But more than any of that, Hansel never wanted to lie: but he did. He lied about everything. He thought that he was done with it all when he and his sister Gretel retreated into the woods to reclaim their land, but he should have known better.

Years later, Rapunzel’s guards knock at his door, and they say the words he hoped that he would never hear: Gothel has escaped. As he and Gretel take refuge inside Rapunzel’s castle in the eastern capitol of Hildebrand, Hansel is thrust back into everything he never wanted in the first place: his lies, his legend, and his lust. In the wake of it all, he knows that Gothel has escaped to finish what she started. She is out to make sure that the Sleeping Beauty never wakes, and that Grimm suffocates under her blanket of thorn and vine. In order to find Gothel and save the kingdom, Hansel andGretel must look for fact in a land of fairy-tale by following a trail of grisly murders, a girl in a red cape, and a powerful little man who can’t stand the sound of his own name.

As they search for answers, Hansel finds that he isn’t the only liar in Grimm, and that there may be a traitor among them of royal proportion.

EXCERPT:

The winter storm began with a scream that split the trees. It echoed throughout the woods and birds fled into the sky, disappearing like smoke behind gray clouds. Hansel looked off in the direction of the disturbance—but it was silent again. There was something menacing about the renewed absence of life that hung over him. He strung his bow, keeping it close to his side, and surveyed the area around him. He was met only with the familiar stillness of the trees and dead foliage beneath.

“We should go,” he said, trying to disguise the urgency in his voice.

His sister, Gretel, hesitated. “Someone screamed.”

“I know,” he said. “That’s why we need to go.”

Gretel scanned the tree line and ran her fingers through her hair. Grabbing her hand, Hansel pulled her in the direction they’d come from. The woods were dangerous, especially on the cusp of winter. They were close to the Southern Thickets—the part of the forest overrun with briar and weed, where all of Grimm’s most dangerous creatures lived—and Hansel knew that if someone was screaming, they had a good reason.

They made their way back to The Path in silence. Hansel was wary of crunching leaves under his boot, afraid to wake the forest. Seconds after they turned around, he felt something whiz past him on both sides of his head. He hoped they were fireflies, bustling about the tops of trees, cutting through the coldness that crept over them. He followed the sparkling speckles with his eyes. They moved with purpose, cracking branches and creasing clouds, spinning wildly. Hansel was probably the only person in Grimm who was ever disappointed to see a flock of fairies, but fireflies meant it was summer, and he longed to see summer again.

Before they blinked out of sight, they spoke to him. Tens of wistful, unison whispers in his ears said: Help…the girl needs help. Hansel looked at Gretel, wondering if she heard them, too. He didn’t have to ask. She bounded back in the opposite direction and drew the skinning knife she kept sheathed at her waist. Hansel cursed, taking off after her. No sooner than he’d kicked off the ground, another mortifying scream shook the woods. He followed close behind Gretel, dodging trees and leaping over the underbrush. There was a third scream, and then a fourth; louder and closer than any before.

He didn’t know what to do. As they ran, the woods shrank around them until the sun no longer broke through the gaps between the trees. Hansel knew they were going to die. No one made it deep into the thickets and lived. It was home to godless monsters; giants, goblins—the creatures of the dark who scarcely bothered with humans, until they were crossed. Hansel struggled to keep up with his sister. Where he was cautious, she was fearless, and where she was cautious, he was safest. He looked up and was surprised to see hundreds of fairies lighting their path. Each second, more poured in from the sky until there was an army over them.

Gretel stopped abruptly, causing Hansel to trip and roll a few steps downhill. He didn’t think long enough to register pain. As he found his footing, Gretel climbed down the incline and stood beside him. His first instinct was to go back the way they’d come, but he was awestruck. They stood on the threshold of life and death, where the woods became the Southern Thickets. It was like a scar across the ground, stretching from one end of the world to the next, a final warning to those brave enough to pass into the curse. Even the fairies were still, their glow dimmed by the wicked magic ahead.

Hansel was relieved to see that there were no longer trees; they’d been replaced by a wall of bramble, too large and thick to allow passage. They were surrounded by the purplish-blue tint of twilight, thorns as sharp as daggers to their throats in front of them and crooked, mossy trees behind them. Once, when Hansel lived in the city, he’d visited his parents’ corpses in the graveyard. They were buried in a public sepulcher maintained by the city to ensure that if a family was unwilling or unable to buy a plot for their deceased, their corpses wouldn’t be left to rot and attract the attention of wildlife. Standing just before the thickets reminded Hansel of that day—the day when he stood at the maw of death and was so close he could feel himself slipping away.

Gretel looked behind them. Hansel hoped she’d given up, and maybe she had. He almost smiled. But one final, thankless cry echoed past the briar, stirring the fairies. Gretel squinted, determined. That scream, Hansel knew, was the epitaph on their gravestones. The fairies swarmed them, and he was swallowed in a rainbow of color, cascading like a waterfall upon him. He couldn’t see anything but the swirling light of the fairy flock, spinning faster and faster around him, tugging at his shirt and creating a whirlwind. He felt weightless. His stomach churned and he felt dizzy. When the fairies cleared, he could see why—he was high in the air, flying over the Southern Thickets.

For a moment, he forgot about the screams and that he was headed into danger. He was soaring. Gretel was flying just below him, her arms spread wide, her hair flailing. Seeing Grimm from the air was both breathtaking and appalling. He expected to see the land as it once was, alive and vibrant. Instead, it was a sickly beige with winter and the end of the curse. The world around them was devoid of life. Most of the animals had fled years earlier, knowing the world was about to change, and those that remained were tucked safely away somewhere beneath them.

The thickets looked exactly as he’d always imagined. From above, he saw nothing but briar and bramble etched across the uneven terrain. They gained speed, and the cold air blasted his cheeks. He was grateful to have the cold in that moment to waken his senses and remind him that he was still alive, that he and Gretel were in danger. He sucked in a breath as they flew farther away from home, and against the still-setting sun that formed the silhouette of a castle, jagged and broken. The Sleeping Castle—he knew it from legend—the home where the rightful royalty of Grimm still rested, dead to the world but not in definition, suffering eternally at the hands of a vengeful witch. All he could make out was one tower, freed from the clutches of the thorn like the arm of an old beggar, trying to hoist himself out of the darkness. The top of the tower stuck at a point against the sunlight like a bony finger fighting for liberation.

It felt like they were flying only moments before he felt himself descending. Hansel looked below. There was a tiny clearing in the briar—a hole in the patchwork—and inside that hole he saw a spot of red. His eyes widened when he realized what was happening; it was a little girl, and she was running for her life. Sooner than he anticipated, the fairies dropped him and he fell into the clearing. They placed Gretel gracefully on the ground next to him and charged back up into the sky in one harmonious motion, disappearing into the briar. The girl stared at them in wonder, Hansel standing close to Gretel. It was suddenly dark, and Hansel knew it was because they were in a place so sinister that even the sunlight refused to pass through. The girl Hansel had seen from the sky was covered in bloody scratches, as if she’d been running through the thorns. Her face was dirty and streaked in muddy tears. She tried to speak to them, but she was silenced by the rustling of the vines behind her.

She yelped, running to them for help. Gretel took her in her arms and cupped her hand over her mouth, quieting her. Hansel trembled, pulling the bowstring back so far he worried it would snap. The figure of a large man appeared on the other side of the curtain of briar, causing the girl to cry harder. He made his best attempt to look imposing, but he was frightened. The man stepped into the clearing, dressed all in black, his hood casting a shadow over his face so that all Hansel could see was a pair of dull, white eyes. At first, Hansel thought the red-orange coating on the figure’s machete was rust, but as the man moved closer, he recognized it as the color of dried blood.

“Who are you?” Hansel asked.

It was like standing in front of death itself—silent, ominous, and terrifying.

Hansel stood rigid, his arrow pointed at the man’s chest. He hated the idea of killing someone, but he knew that his bow would take action before his head did if it was given the opportunity. The man’s chest rose, fell, but didn’t rise again. That was when Hansel knew it was time to let go of the string. It was too late. The hooded figure leaped out of the way just before the arrow left the bow, and as Hansel went to re-string it, he disappeared back into the thickets. Hansel stretched his bow into a V and focused his aim, in case the man returned.

Gretel helped the girl to her feet. “Are you all right?”

She wore a bright cloak that canvassed her body like a suit of armor, bright yet all-concealing. Hansel didn’t know what to make of her. She embodied adolescence, but exuded effortless maturity as if at war with herself. Wine and wildflowers protruded from her basket, peeking surreptitiously back at him. She was a walking contradiction, and that made him anxious.

“I think so,” the girl replied, using her cloak, which was made of some sort of fabric that Hansel couldn’t name but knew was expensive, to wipe her face. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Who was that man?” Hansel asked.

The girl hesitated. She stepped beside Hansel and followed his gaze out into the thickets.

“He was no man,” she said. “He was a wolf.”

“A wolf?” Hansel asked.

She nodded. “He walks like a man, but he’s a wolf, I swear to it. He tackled me back there and started sniffing me and snarling like a beast. His breath smells like dung and whiskey. It frightened me, so I ran off.”

“You don’t know?” Hansel asked. “How do you not know? Do you find you’re often being chased by hooded man-wolves, or is today a special day?”

The girl seemed put off by the question. “Do you normally fly with the fairies?”

“Of course not,” Hansel said.

“So today must be special for all of us,” she said, slyly.

Gretel broke the tension. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Ceara,” the girl replied with a smile that soured Hansel’s mood. She spoke to no one in particular. “But some people call me Little Red Cap because of my cape. It’s made of the finest silk in the East.” She offered the tail of her cape to them.

Gretel reached her hand out and felt the fabric, rubbing it between her fingers. “It’s lovely,” she mumbled.

“My gran made it for me when I was younger. I was always running about in the woods and she worried I would get lost. That’s why the cape is red…I’m easier to spot that way.”

Hansel dropped the bow to his side. It just so happened that he and Gretel knew quite a bit about being lost in the woods.

“Do you know how to get back to The Path from here?” he asked Ceara.

The Path was the clearest, safest route through the woods. It was a trail worn in the grass by the boots of travelers and kings alike; a clear, oppressive force that divided Grimm into four regions. The Path was the safest, most direct route to any place in the entire kingdom.

Ceara’s smile faded. She wiped the tears from her face, using her cloak to remove the dirt from her cheeks. “Of course I do,” she said, gesturing toward the vines. “It’s just a few steps this way.”

“You mean through the thorns?” Hansel asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Unless you plan on asking the fairies for another lift, there’s really no other way.”

“I thought it was impossible to pass through the thickets.” As he spoke, he stared at the thorns. He imagined slicing his leg open, or accidentally impaling himself. He squirmed.

Gretel laughed at him as well, shrugging as she passed him. Ceara parted the vines carefully and let Gretel pass through. After Gretel disappeared into the thickets, Ceara held the vines apart for him. “Go on.”

Right then, Hansel knew he wasn’t going to like Ceara.

About the Author

Weston Sullivan lives and writes in Tampa, Florida. He spends his days splitting time between writing, a full time job, and studying for his degree in Creative Writing from the University of South Florida. He enjoys everything related to storytelling, including film and theater. He likes to read all genres, from contemporary fiction to classic favorites such as Faulkner and Woolf. After he finishes his undergraduate coursework and continues to build his career as an author, he plans to attend graduate school in New York City.

Thinking Triena would be safer without him, Braklen leaves her. Now a wanted criminal, Braklen puts as much distance between him, Triena and the Queens by taking up a job on a smuggling ship. He throws himself into his work to forget about the guilt building inside of him for leaving Triena as well as the love he has for her.

Triena is alone, her rabbit stolen from her, and the Energy is behaving in unexpected ways making it difficult for her to predict the future. Her love for Braklen is strong and she sets out to find him, while trying to keep away from the Queens. With no other option she takes passage with Captain Ri who forces her to use the Energy for his own benefits.

Will she be able to find her beloved rabbit, and Braklen, before the Queens find and destroy her?

Other Books in the Flower Readings Series:

Flower Readings, Book One

Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing

Published May 2017

Triena lives on an outback moon earning a living by offering flower readings for customers. Cast out from the Queens, the Energy Readers, Triena wants to return, but the only way to do that is to kill Braklen and use his energy to look into the future.

Braklen, a Peacekeeper with the Queens, arrives at the Triena’s Tea House. He doesn’t realize the danger he is in when he sits down for a flower reading.

Triena sees her chance to kill Braklen by using the potency in flower buds. The Energy guides her hand, and instead, the suppressed feelings toward Braklen surface.

Can she kill the man she loves?

Excerpt

Braklen looked down into the bowl full of gray something that was meant to be food.

Despite the warning, Braklen dunked a spoon into the thick broth. “Can’t be too bad.” He spooned the greasy liquid with gray floating bits into his mouth. He choked.

The other man laughed, slapping his hand down on the metal table. “You’ll get used to it.”

Braklen coughed as the last of the liquid went down. “Tastes like jet fuel.”

“Wouldn’t put it past the cook to put some in. He probably thinks that it’d give us a boost to work harder.”

“How can you eat it?” Braklen’s spoon was poised above the liquid, but he couldn’t bring himself to take another mouthful. This was a long-haul flight and the bowl of slop was the only thing to eat. He’d just finished a twelve-hour shift in the engine room trying to repair the electronics in the backup system that were so worn out and old, it should’ve been thrown out instead. It was the first ship that accepted his qualifications as a mechanical engineer. He’d boarded, wanting to get as far away as possible from Triena.

His heart lurched, skipping beats, then contracting, causing pain to spread out across his chest. He knew he shouldn’t have boarded, or left her unconscious on the ground. But, since the chip had been deactivated, there was no point hanging around. She didn’treally want me there, not really.

The guy shrugged his shoulders, scrapping the last of the broth onto the spoon and delivered it into his mouth. “I’m already pretty thin. I’ll fade away if I don’t eat.”

Braklen laughed. “Hasn’t anyone complained?”

His men put up with a lot when he was in charge but he would’ve had an uprising if they’d ever had this food from the galley. Emptiness clawed at his gut at the reminder he didn’t command a unit of Peacekeepers anymore. Worse, he was now a wanted man.

He’d contemplated taking Triena with him, turning her in to the authorities and begging to be reinstated. But, much as he wanted his life back, that wasn’t an option. It was clear he’d been set up, a pawn for them to use to get to her. She’ll be better off without me. Safer without me.

About the Author

Lilliana Rose enjoys creating worlds for her characters to play in and fall in love. Check out more of her work, www.lillianarose.com

An Unacceptables MC Romance

PREORDER NOW for only 99 pennies!

The life I live is a dangerous one: I am an outlaw. A proud member of the Unacceptables MC.

Our club is a family and we will do anything to protect it – and I mean anything.

The dust was finally settling from our last war. I was sober, the MC was healing from our loss, and life was getting back to normal. But regicide cannot go unpunished.

And when a newcomer arrives and threatens all that we hold dear…well, he better watch his back, because…

I am Trent Laurence. I will stop at nothing to protect what I believe in.

About the Author:

I am just an average twenty-something following my dreams. I have a full time “day job” and by night I am an author. I guess you could say that writing is like my super power (I always wanted one of those). I am the lover of wine, sushi, football and the ocean; that is when I am not wrapped up in the literary world.

Please feel free to contact me to chat about my writing, books you think I’d like or just to shoot the, well you know.

A portion of all my royalties are donated to The Marcie Mazzola Foundation.

Like this:

★★★ TOTAL FREEBIE!★★★

BITE THE HAND THAT BLEEDS by Megan Erickson is totally FREE!Download it here: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/4xBMx BLOOD GUARD releases September 12, and to get you in the mood and introduce you to Mission City, here’s a FREE short story that is completely standalone!I think you’ll want to read about what happens when Roxy heads underground to a vampire club and meets Dru. Spoiler: Sexy stuff happens. A lot of it. Oh, and there are fangs involved.

Series: The Lost Series

Author: BJ Harvey

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: Available NowOn Sale for 99 cents

In the three years after a horrible crime claimed her family, Elise Halliwell has been alone, shut off from the world in a self-imposed emotional exile. She goes through the motions, finishes high school and moves across country to start college and begin the next step in her pre-destined life.

But her exile is dramatically cut short by the entrance of a dark haired, blue-eyed, smirking man who shakes her to the core, achieving what everyone else before him has failed to do, he makes her feel again.As much as he wishes it were different, fate has not brought Braxton James into Elise’s life, or has it? Brax has to keep her safe from people in her life who have ulterior motives and may want to hurt her.Elise has no idea the threat she faces, and Brax wants to make sure it stays that way. But as Brax struggles with getting close to her, he begins to live a lie. Unable to resist the pull that is Elise’s bright green eyes, infectious giggle, and loving heart, he finds it impossible to stay away, so the double life of being Elise’s boyfriend and keeping her safe begins.Full of twists and turns, danger and revelations that no-one could predict, you won’t be the only one lost in distraction.

What would you do if you were told that everything you had ever believed in and everything you had ever known, was a lie?

Elle’s life is altered forever after an unexpected phone call and an unwelcome visitor. Trying to put her life back together, Brax’s last words continue to echo through her mind. Why she is being followed and why is she suddenly in danger? The fact that Brax knew about it all and still left her alone, breaks her fragile heart all over again.

Brax will never forgive himself for leaving Elle at a time when she needed him the most, even if he believed it was the only way to protect her. As he makes his way back to her life, he is determined to win her back, regain her trust and help rebuild her for the second time. His return proves he is the same man, yet Elle sees in his eyes a haunted look she knows all too well.

When a confession leaves Elle reeling, her entire life unravels around her. She begins to understand that the people she trusts the most have put her in grave danger and the people who have been protecting her actually want to cause her harm.

Elle soon discovers that the old adage is true, you have to become lost before you can be found.

Long before he moved to New York to protect Elle Halliwell, Shay McCarron felt like a drifter.

Working with his best friend, Brax, he took whatever job he could get to survive until mob boss, Victor Bertorelli, offered them both the opportunity of a lifetime, a life line.Now working security and close protection for some of Georgia’s richest families, the boys are living the high life. High profile jobs, nights ofeasy women, and copious alcohol…with their very lucrative, if not slightly illegal occupation, the boys think they’re sitting pretty.Brenna, the youngest daughter of mob boss, Victor Bertorelli, hates her family’s mob ties, their morals, the whole damn thing. She wants to get as far away from them and the notorious Bertorelli name as she can.Until the blonde haired, green eyed, cocky as hell guy storms into her life and succeeds in capturing her attention, and her heart.Unfortunately, it’s the very world they live in that will tear them apart forever.Get to know the history of the best friend who gave his all in the highly acclaimed Lost series.

BJ Harvey is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Bliss Series. She also regards herself as a smut peddler, suspense conjurer and a funny romance thinker upper.

An avid music fan, you will always find her singing some hit song badly but loving every minute of it.

She’s a wife, a mom to two beautiful girls, and hails from what she considers as the best country in the world—New Zealand.

Racer, an all-new standalone in the Real Series from New York Times bestselling author Katy Evans is coming September 28th!!!

A bad boy with something to prove.A woman with a mission.The race of their lives.The love of a lifetime.

I don’t think his parents expected him to live up to his name—Racer Tate—but once he felt the adrenaline rush behind the wheel, he was addicted.

He’s the fastest, fiercest driver around.

Scouting new talent brings me to his doorstep…but his smile sends me to my knees.

The sexy, mysterious Racer Tate is not the kind of man a girl like me falls for. He’s secretive, reckless, elusive. But his proximity pushes me beyond reason, and his kiss….

This is our last chance to win, and he is our only hope. I’m supposed to watch him—make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. But it’s an impossible task. And now the one in heart wrenching, toe-curling, soul-crushing trouble is me. Because when your heart belongs to someone, their truths become your own, and their secrets become your salvation…or your curse.

He says he wants me. He says I’m the One. But he also thinks he’ll break my heart, one piece at a time until it’s gone.

Time served for a crime he didn’t commit only provided many lessons learned. The domino effect of one person’s crime going unpunished cuts deeply and leaves a mark that can never be covered.

He’s no saint.

Jackson ‘Rowdy’ Presley did a dime, and he served his time silently. He could have brought down the real criminals, but instead he took the term and paid the price. Never have loyalty before the Devil’s Due MC, he finally has the new beginning he desperately needs.

She’s not afraid to call herself a sinner.

Peony Michele Forbes lives her life wherever the wind takes her. She walked away from her past to give herself a future with no restrictions. As much as she wants to forget who she it, others don’t want to let her disappear so easily.

However, danger follows her everywhere she goes.

Will Jackson see beyond his jaded connection to Peony and find there is more to life than revenge? When backed to the wall, will Peony let herself trust Jackson to be the one to save her?

Love, hate, anger, and passion collide as the time comes, and the devil demands his due.

“Loved this story from beginning to end. True love and second chances prove to be an enriching and enlightening read.” – Eva McFarden – Amazon Review

“…beautifully written and makes you anxious for the next book!” – Reckless Readers

“This story is absolutely stunning. The action and character build up is great. The chemistry between the main characters is awe-inspiring” – Beth DeLoreto – Amazon Review

Chelsea Camaron is a small town Carolina girl with a big imagination. She is a wife and mom chasing her dreams. She writes contemporary romance, erotic suspense, and psychological thrillers. She loves to write blue-collar men who have real problems with a fictional twist. From mechanics to bikers to oil riggers to smokejumpers, bar owners, and beyond, she loves a strong hero who works hard and plays harder.

Encore, an all-new sexy and emotional M/M love story from Ruth Clampett is available now!

When shy programmer, Charlie, is dragged to a Hollywood male revue by his co-workers, the last thing he expects is to be pulled onstage. But when he’s approached by Ramon, a dancer whose only focus is to bring him pleasure, something awakens in Charlie that can’t be denied.

Heated attraction only goes so far when one man dreams of true love and a life finally fulfilled, and the other is still grieving the one he lost, and the mistake that cost him everything.

Can a realist and a dreamer from two different worlds move forward and build a future together, or will their painful pasts keep them from fulfilling their destiny?

Excerpt:

There’s another round of cat-calls from the pent up audience when the dancers step to the front of the stage and dance provocatively to amp up the viewers. Suddenly they split apart again and move toward us.

My mind is momentarily jumbled, and when the images sort themselves I realize that instead of the woman, the male dancer is approaching me. I can’t help but stare at his incredible body as my gaze slowly works it’s way up from his muscular thighs, to his abs, built chest and shoulders and when I get to his face I realize I’m blinking repeatedly.

The confusion that must be evident in my expression apparently is amusing, because he nods at me before leaning in closer and I feel a flush from his hot breath against my ear. “Hey, Prince Charlie … ready to have some fun?”

I can feel my eyes bug out and a lump form in my throat. It is him. “Ramon?” I ask in a strangled voice.

“The one and only,” he answers with a wink. “I thought you could use a little loosening up.” He widens his legs and steps closer, straddling me and running his fingers through my hair while he slowly rotates his hips.

“You’re gay?” I ask, my mouth gaping open.

His bold laugh makes my cheeks feel hot. “Oh, baby,” he whispers. “You’re so damn cute. Ask me again when I’m done with you.” He gives me a sexy smile and then slowly rocks his hips forward making me want to rip his briefs off.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God.” I whisper, feeling like my face is on fire.

He backs away again to dance around me, brushing his hand over my shoulders and down my thighs while he moves. Every sweep of his touch excites me until I’m sizzling like a lit fuse.

I’ve never seen anyone other than on music videos who could dance with such a natural rhythm and sexual vibe. He turns toward the audience partway through the dance and then bends forward so his ass is presented to me and I’m in agony not to touch it. He has the most perfect gorgeous ass I’ve ever seen. I get harder thinking about what it would be like in this moment if we were alone, and he wasn’t wearing the tiny briefs. Oh God. I think with a sigh.

I’m trying to hide as best I can how turned-on I am. Has there ever been more proof that it’s not a woman that I want in my bed, but a man like Ramon?

I’m having trouble catching my breath when he straightens and swivels, then straddles my legs as he thrusts his hips bringing his bulge tauntingly close to my face.

Shifting back until he’s almost sitting on my knees, he slowly drags his way up my thighs until his ass is against my crotch and he sinks down firmly enough to know I’m painfully hard for him.

The edges of his mouth turn up with delight. “Damn, Charlie,” he says. “You feel so fucking good.”

Read Today!

About the Author:

Ruth Clampett, daughter of legendary animation director Bob Clampett, grew up surrounded by artists and animators. A graduate of Art Center College of Design, she has been VP of Design for Warner Brothers Studio Stores and taught photography at UCLA. Today she runs her own studio and as the Fine Art publisher for Warner Brothers Studios has come to know and work with some of the world’s greatest artists in the fields of animation and comics.

Ruth lives and works in Los Angeles, strictly supervised by her teenage daughter, who helps plan their summer around their yearly pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic Con.

Check out this amazing EXCERPT of Blood Guard by Megan Erickson! Coming soon on September 12th, you’ll want to sink your teeth into this romance!

“Megan Erickson knows how to bring the heat! With a kick-butt heroine and a hero to die for, Blood Guard kept me reading all night long.”—New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff

Enter a world of immortal danger and desire—and discover an incredible fate borne of blood.

Tendra: One minute, I’m a bartender in gritty Mission City; the next, I’m whisked away by a vampire named Athan who tells me that I’m the lifeblood of his clan. It sounds unbelievable, but he’s got evidence I can’t deny. Turns out, Athan belongs to an underground society of vampires who feed only on humans with their consent. Their enemies have no such qualms, and they want me dead. The only thing standing in their way is strong, sexy Athan. And the closer we get, the more tempted I am to let Athan feed. . . .

Athan: How could I have known when I snatched this snarky, beautiful human off the streets that she would change my destiny? As a loyal soldier, I must deliver Tendra to our future king—my brother. Empowered with the blood of ten generations of the Gregorie breed, she is fated to rule as our queen. But there’s something between us that’s so intoxicating, so carnal, I can’t help wanting Tendra for myself . . . even if it’s treason.

EXCERPT:

The panic welled in my chest. I was trapped in a strange apartment with a strange man who probably outweighed me trifold. I opened up my mouth to scream but he held up his hand and said in a deep voice. “You scream, and I’ll just put you to sleep again.”

My jaw snapped shut. I focused on breathing. In and out. In and out. I wanted to thrash and yell, and holler, but he’d somehow knocked me out before and I would be useless if he did it again.

I glanced around. The only light was from a small, dim bare bulb above us. The rest of the room was in shadow. There was nothing I could use for a weapon, not even my shoes. I focused back on the man in front of me. “How’d we get here?”

“I carried you,” he answered, his voice a rumble that I felt down to my bones.

Something moved in the corner of my vision and I peered into the dark. A form materialized, and I must have been dreaming still because Brex was there. He stalked toward me, rubbed against my leg, then sat down by my feet like a feline guard. I tried to be calm, but I was close to losing it. I didn’t date. Was this how people dated now? Maybe it was a thing. “Why is my cat here?”

My captor didn’t move, and half of his face was in shadow. “I brought him.”

Oh, just fucking great. A stalker. I’d be lucky if I made it out of here without him wearing my skin like clothes and my head in a freezer. “Okay, cool. Well, uh, hi. I’m Tendra. I applaud you for your unconventional, um, greeting. Want to untie me? We can go for a drink. I make a mean screwdriver.”

Confusion flickered over his face, then his scowl deepened, like uncertainty angered him. “No.”

I didn’t want to make him mad, but I’d never been great at keeping my mouth shut. Sometimes me opening my mouth was the reason we had to move. “Do you want money? Because I’m sorry to say, you kidnapped the wrong girl. Especially because I just paid rent. I’m eating peanut butter out of the tub for the next week.”

Again with the angry confusion. He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want your money.”

I gritted my teeth. “Well, now you have me here. What do you plan to do to me?” The panic was slowly switching over to anger, the fight instinct my mother instilled in me strong as ever. If he was going to kill me, maybe I could piss him off enough that it would be quick. “Because I’ll tell you right now, I will fight you to my dying breath and then come back from the dead and haunt you until I convince you to cut your own dick off.”

His expression didn’t change. “Charming.”

I was signing my death warrant, but I couldn’t resist getting a shot in. “Fuck you, you creeper.”

His chest rose as he inhaled sharply. “Right, so let’s have it out. I’m your guard, because you’re destined to be delivered to my older brother in order to make our clan stronger.”

I didn’t move. Not an inch. Because holy shit, not only was he a creepy stalker, but he was out of his gourd, too. I couldn’t just have an evil stalker. Oh, no, I had to have a lunatic one, too. Zero of what he said made sense, so I focused on one thing at a time. “Excuse me? Clan? What are you, cavemen?”

I thought he’d take offense, but instead he just looked bored. “No, not cavemen. Vampires.”

I blinked.

And blinked again.

But nope, he was still there. This was still happening. Only me. If I made it out of here alive, what a story I’d have to sell about my stalker who thought he was a vampire. I had visions of the guy trying to bite my neck with his blunt teeth. Which made a giggle bubble up in my throat, which turned into a laugh, which turned into me throwing my head back in hysterical laughter until tears streamed down my cheeks.

When I dropped my head and focused on him through my tears, he was watching me carefully, that impassive expression still on his face.

He reached down and picked up Brex by the scruff of his neck, which immediately ceased any and all amusement on my part. “If you hurt my cat, swear to God—“

Brex yowled and swiped a paw across the man’s face. A thin line of scarlet bloomed on his cheekbone before the man dropped Brex, who scurried off to hide under a small table near an old couch. “Good job, Brex!” I shouted after him. “Now come back and finish the job!”

I turned to my stalker, and whatever I was about to say died in my throat. I watched as the cut sealed up and vanished before my eyes.

Gone.

No mark, no blood. No nothing.

And those dark eyes were still trained on me.

BITE THE HAND THAT BLEEDS by Megan Erickson is totally FREE!

Download it here: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/4xBMx BLOOD GUARD releases September 12, and to get you in the mood and introduce you to Mission City, here’s a FREE short story that is completely standalone!I think you’ll want to read about what happens when Roxy heads underground to a vampire club and meets Dru. Spoiler: Sexy stuff happens. A lot of it. Oh, and there are fangs involved.

About the Author:

Megan Erickson is a USA Today bestselling author of romance that sizzles. Her books have a touch of nerd, a dash of humor, and always have a happily ever after. A former journalist, she switched to fiction when she decided she likes writing her own endings better.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her very own nerdy husband and two kids. Although rather fun-sized, she’s been told she has a full-sized personality. When Megan isn’t writing, she’s either lounging with her two cats named after John Hughes characters or… thinking about writing.

A new STANDALONE romance from New York Times bestselling author Jana Aston

Have you ever set out to have a one night stand with a sexy stranger?

No? I’m the only one?

Just kidding, I would never.

Ever.

Not usually.

But then I figured, why not? My entire life I’ve been good and it’s gotten me nowhere.

No job.

No apartment.

No boyfriend.

I’m owed a little fun, aren’t I? A reward for being good.

Sure, a new pair of shoes would be more appropriate, but Mr. Sexy Stranger is more appealing. And when he speaks—in that British accent—it’s a done deal. Every American woman has a hot British guy fantasy. Well, most do. I haven’t taken a poll or anything, but I’m pretty sure it’s a fact.

Author Bio:

Jana Aston likes cats, big coffee cups and books about billionaires who deflower virgins. She wrote her debut novel while fielding customer service calls about electrical bills, and she’s ever grateful for the fictional gynecologist in Wrong that readers embraced so much she was able to make working in her pajamas a reality. Jana’s novels have appeared on the NYT, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, some multiple times. She likes multiples.